Abstract
The objectives of this research were to: 1) study the success of online business entrepreneurs in the digital age; and 2) examine factors contributing to the success of online business entrepreneurs in the digital age. This research employed quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. In the quantitative research, the sample consisted of 260 online business entrepreneurs, obtained via multi-stage sampling. The sample size was determined based on 20 times the observed variables. Data were collected with the use of a questionnaire and analyzed with a structural equation model. For the qualitative research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 key informants including online business entrepreneurs and academic persons in the field of marketing. These informants were selected by purposive sampling. Data were analyzed with content analysis. The research findings showed that: 1) the success of the online business entrepreneurs was rated at a high level; 2) the characteristics of entrepreneurs, information technology, business strategies, and management innovation, all contributed to the success of online business entrepreneurs in the digital age with .05 level of statistical significance. Moreover, the findings also revealed an important point that entrepreneurs in the digital age needed to examine the needs of customers and respond to such needs promptly so that a marketing opportunity could be gained quickly. This could be done with the use of technologies in the digital age. Additionally, online entrepreneurs also needed to adjust their marketing strategies according to the market situations to ensure that they are competitive. They also needed to apply management innovation in the adjustment of business strategies to increase sales and expand their markets. These would align the business according to customer needs, leading to customer satisfaction, word of mouth communication among customers, repeat consumption, and brand loyalty. These findings can be used as guidelines for the development of success of online business entrepreneurs in the digital age by enhancing their potential in terms of marketing competitive advantage, creating and improving trading networks, and applying innovations and modern technologies in the development of their online businesses.
Keywords : Characteristics of Entrepreneur, Information Technology, Business Strategy, Innovation
